The Sleipner area

The Sleipner area embraces the Sleipner East and Sleipner West gas and condensate fields.

Sleipner East came on stream in October 1993.

Sleipner West came on stream in August 1996.

Gungne and Loke are satellites to Sleipner East.

Alpha North is a satellite to Sleipner West.

Gas hub

During the last years, Sleipner has strengthened its position as the second largest gas machine in the North Sea next to the Troll field. Sleipner stands out as a modern and robust gas hub thanks to frequent upgradings, tie-ins of other fields such as Sigyn and Volve and the connection to the Troll and Ormen Lange fields.

History

Development of Sleipner East became one of the most dramatic projects in Norwegian oil history on 23 August 1991, when the concrete gravity base structure for Sleipner A sank.

A design error sent this unit to the bottom of the Gands Fjord outside Stavanger in more than 200 metres of water, shortly before it was due to be mated with the topsides.

Norwegian Contractors, which had built the original GBS, completed a replacement in record time so that gas deliveries from Sleipner East could begin on the contractual date of 1 October 1993.

In 1985, the UK government rejected a sales contract negotiated by Statoil with British Gas on behalf of the sellers.

However, Statoil succeeded the following year in incorporating gas from the Sleipner fields in the Troll gas sales agreements.

This made it possible to start deliveries under these contracts in 1993 – three years before Troll Gas could come on stream.